I have had a set of Prosnip offset aviation / tin snips for over 20 years. My favorite is the green "right" cutting snips. Well, the spring broke on Sunday. I figured it would be no problem to find a replacement spring. There are only a couple types I found on line. Most are for Wiss snips. Not exactly correct but it might work. Ebay lists the springs for $8-$9 bucks. I found them on line for under $3, but you have to buy four of them. Ok, I'd have a few extra. Got to the shipping, it was $10.00. I can buy a new pair Midwest snips for around $20. So I stopped at Napa this morning on my way to work to see what kind of snips they can get and prices. They carry Irwin and Dewalt, both made in China. No USA made like Midwest. While I was there I looked around to see what else would use a similar spring. Found a six pack of 3" spring clamps, that have a similar spring, for $5 in the bargain rack. The coils on the spring are just a whisker wider, so with a little prying, the spring fit and my snips are back up and running again until a breakdown and buy new ones. I now have five extra springs or some 3" spring clamps to use. 
